Brechin

Location type

Station

Names and dates

Brechin (1848-1952)
Brechin (1993-)

Station code: National Rail
Opened on the Aberdeen Railway.
Opened on the Brechin and Edzell District Railway.
Open on the Caledonian Railway [Preserved].

Description

This is a preserved station, a terminus. At its height services from Brechin ran to Montrose [CR] (via Dubton), Edzell and Dundee East (via Careston, Forfar [2nd], Kingennie and Broughty Ferry).


Terminus

This station is a terminus. This station was the terminus of the Brechin branch of the Aberdeen Railway. A small goods yard was provided to the south. The original part of the building is of two storeys. A signal box opened in 1880.


Expansion

It was expanded with the opening of the Forfar and Brechin Railway and the Brechin and Edzell District Railway in the 1890s. The building was extended with a new single storey block at the buffer ends around 1895.

The station originally had an all-over roof which was replaced with glazed canopies when the station building was extended round the buffer end of the platform. Brechin Goods was extended east and Brechin Shed [2nd] opened.

A new box opened in 1895 controlling a short section of conventional double track north to Brechin North Junction.

In 1934 Brechin North Junction box closed and the branches to Forfar [2nd] and Edzell now ran as two single track lines as far as Brechin. The box was resignalled.


Closure

Edzell closed to passengers in 1931 (with a short revival in 1939). The secondary route to Forfar [2nd] closed in 1952.
The station closed to passengers in 1952. The Forfar [2nd] route as far as Careston closed in 1958. Brechin box closed in 1962. Edzell closed altogether in 1964. Brechin survived as a goods service continued until 1981.


Preservation

It is now the terminus of the Caledonian Railway [Preserved], re-opening in 1993. Caledonian Railway

Local

Brechin Cathedral

Tags

Terminus Station Preserved

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map

Facilities

Listing: B




Chronology Dates

  /  /1845Aberdeen Railway
Act receives Royal assent. The line with run from Guthrie and Friockheim north largely by the coast to Aberdeen with branches to Brechin and Montrose.
01/02/1848Aberdeen Railway
Guthrie Junction and Friockheim Junction (merging at Glasterlaw Junction) to termini at Brechin and Montrose [CR] (dividing at Bridge of Dun) opened. Stations opened at Guthrie, Glasterlaw, Farnell Road, Bridge of Dun, Brechin, Montrose [CR]. Coaches connected with trains at Montrose [CR] allowing passengers to continue north.
  /  /1893Brechin and Edzell District Railway Forfar and Brechin Railway
Agreements made for the west to north and east to north curves at Brechin.
07/01/1895Forfar and Brechin Railway
Opened for goods from Brechin to Forfar South Junction. Tannadice station opened to goods.
01/06/1895Forfar and Brechin Railway
Opened for passengers from Brechin to Forfar South Junction with stations at Careston, Tannadice and Justinhaugh.
02/11/1898Aberdeen Railway
A cattle train breaks away and runs downhill into Brechin's passenger platforms resulting in damage to the terminus building and the death of many animals.
27/04/1931Brechin and Edzell District Railway
Edzell to Brechin (excluded) closed to passengers. Also given as 26/4/1931.
04/07/1938Brechin and Edzell District Railway
Edzell to Brechin re-opened to passengers.
26/09/1938Brechin and Edzell District Railway
Edzell to Brechin (excluded) re-closed to passengers. Edzell and Stracathro closed.
04/08/1952Aberdeen Railway
Brechin to Bridge of Dun (excluded) closed to passengers.
04/08/1952Forfar and Brechin Railway
Brechin to Forfar South Junction (excluded) closed to passengers. Careston, Tannadice and Justinhaugh closed to passengers.
17/03/1958Forfar and Brechin Railway
Brechin (excluded) to Careston (excluded) closed to freight
07/09/1964Brechin and Edzell District Railway
Edzell to Brechin closed to goods.
  /  /1979Aberdeen Railway
Brechin Preservation Society formed.
04/05/1981Aberdeen Railway
Brechin to Kinnaber Junction (excluded) closed.
  /08/2006Leven Railway Aberdeen Railway
A footbridge from Cameron Bridge, on the former Leven Railway, is offered to the Caledonian Railway [Preserved], which operates the Brechin branch of the former Aberdeen Railway.

News items

22/11/2023Deja vu despair after Brechin misses out on UK Government Levelling Up millions for second time [The Courier]
19/11/202357 great pictures as Polar Express pulls into Brechin for Christmas [The Courier]
10/11/2023Full steam ahead for Brechin Polar Express after Caledonian Railway Storm Babet clean-up [The Courier]
22/10/2023Aberdeen to Elgin railway line reopens and work continues to open A90 road after Storm Babet [STV]
19/09/2023Old Arbroath road train makes tracks for new home at Caley Railway in Brechin [The Courier]
02/09/202316 great pictures as Thomas the Tank takes to the tracks at Brechin [The Courier]
02/07/2023Roar-some time at Brechin Caledonian Railway Jurassic tracks dinosaur day out [The Courier]
30/03/2023Could new Angus cycle lane resurrect dream of charity rail link to Montrose? [The Courier]
08/02/2023Network Rail finds new home for historic footbridge [Network Rail]
20/01/2023Decision not to bid for Levelling Up cash will haunt Angus for years [The Courier]

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The North of Scotland v. 15 (Regional railway history series)

Aberdeen 1900: Aberdeenshire Sheet 75.11 (Old O.S. Maps of Aberdeenshire)

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire: 40 Coast and Country Walks

Aberdeen City Centre History Tour

Aberdeen City Centre Through Time

Aberdeen in Old Picture Postcards

Aberdeen in the Fifties and Sixties

Aberdeen Remembered: By Aberdeen City Libraries and Museums

Aberdeen, Inverurie and Pitmedden (OS Landranger Map)

Aberdeen: An Illustrated Architectural Guide (RIAS illustrated architectural guides to Scotland)

Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Scotland)

Aberdeenshire's Lost Railways

Angus and Kincardineshire's Lost Railways

BR Steam in Colour: London to Aberdeen from the Bill Reed Collection

Bradshaw's Guide Scotland's Railways East Coast Berwick to Aberdeen & Beyond: Volume 6

Brechin 1901: Forfarshire Sheet 28.13 (Old O.S. Maps of Forfarshire)

Brechin 1901: Forfarshire Sheet 28.13 (Old O.S. Maps of Forfarshire)

British Railways Steam - King's Cross to Aberdeen: From the Bill Reed Collection

Bygone Montrose: With Inverkeilor, Lunan Bay, Rossie, Usan, Ferryden, Bridge of Dun, Hillside, Dubton and Craigo

Caledonian Routes 1: Aberdeen, Strathmore Line & Branches

Cock o' the North: Aberdeen to Kyle of Lochalsh - Study in Diesel Power Through Its Various Stages

Great North Memories: Aberdeen No. 2: Scenes of the North East's Own Railway

Hidden Aberdeen: History on Your Doorstep and Under Your Feet

Joint Station: Aberdeen Station, 1867-1992

Landranger (54) Dundee & Montrose, Forfar & Arbroath (OS Landranger Map)

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Memories of Steam from Glasgow to Aberdeen

Montrose The Postcard Collection

Montrose Through Time
National Series of Waterway, Tramway and Railway Atlases: Aberdeen v. 1m
On Either Side, 1939: The Train between London King's Cross & Edinburgh Waverley, Fort William, Inverness & Aberdeen (Old House)

OS Explorer Map (389) Forfar, Brechin and Edzell (OS Explorer Paper Map) (OS Explorer Active Map)

OS Explorer Map (389) Forfar, Brechin and Edzell (OS Explorer Paper Map) (OS Explorer Active Map)

Railways Of Scotland 4: Aberdeen And The Grampians DVD - Cinerail

Railways Of Scotland 7: Perth To Kinnaber Junction DVD - Cinerail

The Montrose & Bervie Railway: A Study of Transport in South-East Kincardineshire 1770-1966

The Railways of Aberdeen: 150 Years of History: One Hundred and Fifty Years of History
The Railways of Strathmore (Perth, Forfar and Brechin)The Railways of Strathmore (Perth, Forfar and Brechin)The 'Subbies': The story of Aberdeen's suburban trains 1887-1987